AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah.” Made his jump.
“It is beautiful.” She fell back against the couch cushions. “My entire apartment could fit inside the living room and kitchen.”
“Size matters to you?” He finished his move and nabbed two of her pieces in the process.
“Doesn’t it matter to all girls?” The tease in her voice caught him off guard, and his gaze jumped from the board to her blush and the way her teeth were sinking into her bottom lip. She’d surprised herself with the innuendo, and once again, her innocence upped his interest.
“I don’t know,” he said, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. “You tell me.”
“I can’t.” She sank deeper into the couch, like she hoped it might swallow her.
“Why not?”
“Because I shouldn’t have said that.” She covered her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Meaning you’re not an expert on size, or you don’t want to share what you know with me? As a guy, I’ve got to say, I’d love to hear your perspective.”
She shook her head.
He lifted one shoulder. “Okay then. Your turn.” The last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable. She wanted to banter with him, he could tell, but she floundered on the follow-up.
“I forget myself around you,” she said, lifting away from the couch pillow.
Every time she made these admissions, his respect for her grew. He let people see only what he wanted them to see and figured he pretty much got that in return. Even the very short list of his family and friends never saw everything. Sophie had, though, and she gifted him with more of herself in return.
“I like that.”
“You don’t need to say such things when no one’s around.”
“Need to?” What was she talking about? He never said things he didn’t mean.
“I know you’re just being nice because…well, you’re a nice guy. But I’m nothing like the girls you usually hang out with.” She drew in her bottom lip and dropped her gaze to the floor.
He reached over the coffee table and gently lifted her chin. “You’re right. Your smile is warmer. When your body is close to mine, all my muscles twitch in the best possible way. And your eyes. Your eyes remind me of the tropical waters in the Maldives and I want to swim in them constantly. When you look at me like I’m a man and not a pro surfer you’re out to bag,thatis beautiful. You’re beautiful.”
Her lashes fluttered and her body shook. He wanted to wrap her in his arms, but if he did that, he’d be hard-pressed to stop there.
“No one has ever noticed me like that,” she whispered.
“I could say the same to you.”
She gave him a shy smile and took her turn, keeping eye contact to a minimum for the rest of the game. They battled it out for bragging rights, but in the end, she won. She had a competitive edge to her he found damn appealing.
Not ready for the night to end, he said, “Don’t move,” and got to his feet.
“Where are you going?”
“I thought we’d play one of my favorite games now.” He remembered seeing a deck of cards in one of the drawers in the kitchen.
“Oh. Okay.” She closed up the checkerboard. “But then I really should get back. I’ve got a full day tomorrow.”
“Fair enough.” He headed to the kitchen, grabbed the cards, and hurried back to the living room. “You ready for a little Go Fish?”
She giggled. “I should’ve guessed. Yes, I’m ready.”
He slid the cards out of the ordinary box, but the cards in his hands weren’t a regular deck. Sophie noticed at the same time because she said, “Uh, Zane, those don’t look like normal playing cards.”
To keep his smile at bay, he chewed the inside of his cheek. One side of the card had the usual numbers, but it also had a “Naughty Truth or Dare” question. The other side had a cartoon of the backside of a man wearing a trench coat and flashing three monkeys—one monkey covering its eyes, the second its ears, and the third its mouth.
